Volturi's End
by Gaelain
Summary: This is a Twilight novel, The timeline is a sequel to Breaking Dawn, It's cannon and leans toward the books but it borrows from the movies as well. It starts off with two totally new characters, then merges with the Cullen family in chapter two.
1. The Journey

Well I'd finally gone and done it. I'd pulled the pin and retired on disability and now my time was my own. I'd recently bought an Aliner camper to road trip with, but a windstorm and a large tree had put paid to using that for anything. Fortunately I was over-insured so I got a nice check from State Farm, after considerable protestations on their part.

I had recently upgraded my tow vehicle from a Subaru Forester, barely able to tow the lightest Aliner, to an S10 pickup with considerably more towing capacity, though it was still a four cylinder. It got around 20 mpg in town and I hadn't gotten around to figuring the highway mileage yet. I had considered a self contained camper van, perhaps a class B, but they were pretty expensive and difficult to get anyone to work on. In addition to those issues, you can't park them easily so I opted for a more versatile approach.

I figured the truck/camper trailer combo was the best of all possible worlds. I could tow the camper to where I was camping, then if I wanted to go somewhere with restrictive parking, unhook and just take the truck. In addition, if something happened to the truck I could repair it anywhere, since it wasn't anything special, and in a worst case scenario just rent another truck to move the camper if need be.

So I took my check from State Farm, quit my job, applied for disability, using the insurance money to live off of until a few months later when I was approved, then applied the back pay I was owed to the "camper fund". I'd found another a-frame camper online to purchase for considerably less than my settlement and so had a trip fund in hand.

I had a bit of a bucket list I wanted to accomplish. Nothing too grand, Visit Dave Canterbury in Ohio, Drop in on Mick Dodge in the Hoh rain forest, Maybe hook up with Eric Jacobs, the Nomadic Fanatic or Justin 'Credible, a couple of YouTube personalities in the RV Living category. I'd gotten my passport so I'd be able to cross the border into Vancouver to see Justin, and since he was just across from Washington State and Dave Canterbury wasn't currently in Ohio I'd bypassed him and moved on to tracking down Mick Dodge.

My camper is a Chalet Alpine, not the same brand as my earlier A-frame but of comparable quality and had considerably better equipment. It has a big storage box in the front, a Cool Cat heat pump, three way fridge, three burner stove, large dinette in front and gaucho couch in back that pulls out into a bed. Mostly I just slept on the couch without pulling it out as I didn't need much room.

I'd set the camper up for "dry camping" or "boondocking", essentially camping off grid with no hookups. I could WalMart camp, stop at any rest stop and set up and camp, and also camp in dispersed camping sites in any state without power for extended periods. I could also, if desired, set up at any pay campground with full hookups. I'd removed the hot water heater and integral water tank and pump in favor of aqua pods and other containers, but hooked up the sink to the outside outlet so I could use hookups when they were available.

So there I was, driving across the United States. I had stopped in for a visit with my brother in Wisconsin, near St Paul Minnesota and was making my way West after taking his leave and had stopped at a visitor center on I 94 at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Painted Canyon Visitor Center was interesting and I'd stopped to check out the kiosks and scenery. I might have walked the trail but I didn't want to leave my cat alone in the camper that long so I stuck to the nearby attractions.

It was nearing dark and I was thinking about heading back to the camper to bed down for the night. I'd asked and nobody objected to me camping overnight in the parking lot. I'd picked an out of the way back corner spot to park in and just left the camper attached to the truck so I'd be ready to pull out in the morning. As the sun got low enough that I could no longer see the canyon very well I turned toward the camper...and then I saw her.

She was dark haired, fine featured, pale, and exquisitely beautiful. She was sitting on a bench near one of the signs and oddly not looking at the canyon or scenery, or anything else of note. She was sitting facing _away_ from all the interesting scenery, In fact she seemed to be taking a rather intense interest in _me_. I couldn't place her age, but her size and slightness of build suggested she was a teenager. On the other hand her clothing was not that of an unsophisticated teenager at all. It was like someone had dressed a 14 or 15 year old up in her mother's wardrobe.

She was wearing the typical black leggings, I think they are called yoga pants, most teens wear these days, but she'd paired that with a long sleeved white shirt and a black vest, almost like a female tuxedo look. She had a smart little black purse on the bench next to her and it was expensive looking, not something you'd see a kid toting around. She also had on a wide brimmed black hat, probably to keep from getting sunburn, and some medium sunglasses. Her poise was not that of a young person, for instance, when she saw that I'd seen her staring at me, she didn't look away. She was studying me as if she were trying to decide something of great import.

I was still trying to discern her age, trying to use her hairstyle as a clue, but I know little of hairstyles and was unable to determine anything. I was also wondering why she was so intensely interested in me when she seemed to come to a decision and picked up her purse and walked toward the main building. If she'd been a man I'd have been thinking she was casing me for something, but since she was so slight and unlikely to be a threat, I simply shrugged and headed off to the camper.

My cat, Missy, was ready for her dinner, and let me know all about it when I opened the camper door. I cuddled her first, as she seems to have less interest in the food than a greeting when I've been away...not that she'll forget she's hungry mind you, but cuddles first. I gave her a Perfect Portions entre, she loves those, and settled down to relax and read an ebook on my Nook Simple Touch.

Missy had climbed up next to me on the couch for some petting as I read, and I absently stroked her with my left hand as I explored an Honor Harrington novel. I had read them all but some books are worth a revisit and my favorites are series books with lots of titles in them.

When I was working I had worked late into the evening, so bedtime was still around 2am for me, my newfound freedom from work not having altered my schedule significantly as of yet. My schedule was still pretty advantageous in congested areas as rush hour was normally over by 10am and since I was just hitting the road around 11am I was usually out of the congested area before the evening rush hour started. That was not a concern at the Visitor Center, my truck and camper were alone in the parking lot so I was expecting no company, save the potential for some "solution looking for a problem to solve" cop harassing me about camping in the lot.

Missy suddenly perked up alert, as if she'd smelled or heard something. Next thing I knew she was hiding under the table among the items stored there. I drew my Taurus, just as a precaution, because I really didn't expect any threats around and if something spooked my cat, there was _something_ afoot. Perhaps a coyote or some other nighttime predator that could stalk close quietly enough not to alert me. I have always been a cautious type, preferring to look silly rather than ignore a potential threat and look dead. Besides, nobody was here to see me looking silly holding a pistol in an empty parking lot.

Before I had left on my trip I had gotten myself appointed a Deputy State Constable in Pennsylvania which afforded me the ability to carry a firearm anywhere in the United States and even imposed penalties for disarming me should local law enforcement wish to do so. I had been carrying my Taurus PT111 G2 in a smart carry holster for some time now and was pretty comfortable with it.

I admit my reasons for getting the appointment were not because I intended to serve papers or conduct other business as a Constable, but more for the ability to remain armed anywhere I went. Reciprocity is a witches brew of ever changing political horse manure and it is easy to run afoul of the law while trying to follow it to the letter. The badge was a 50 state carry permit _everyone_ had to acknowledge and instant respect from law enforcement if I encountered them, assuming I wasn't the reason they had been called.

I also had my AR-15 along, as well as a few other choice weapons in my stash. I figured I'd rather have them with me and be able to safeguard them myself than risk a break-in to an obviously vacant apartment and lose them when I couldn't. I was considering whether I should pass on the handgun in favor of the rifle when I heard a sharp knock on my door. I jumped a foot in the air, not having heard anyone approach the camper, and not believing someone _could_ approach the camper without me hearing them.

After a few seconds to slow my heart rate, and not detecting an obvious threat, I called out, "Who's there?" "Patricia," She answered, "I saw you earlier and thought you might be able to help me...I really need to talk to you, can you open up?" I peered out the window and it was her...the girl from the bench, you know, the exquisitely beautiful, finely featured one. I have to be honest, if she'd been ugly or otherwise undesirable, I'd have passed, but a pretty girl in distress gets me every time. "Ok, but we'll talk outside, I don't want the cat to get away and get lost out here."

Sometimes you can just tell when your life is about to change drastically, and sometimes it just happens nearly without you noticing. I was still wary, because I have been the target of many attempted con or scam, and wasn't about to fall into that trap. I detected a sort of urgency about her, even trepidation or fear, and it seemed genuine, at least as far as I was able to determine. I suppose I should explain that bit. You see I have Asperger's, which makes me socially inept to a certain degree, and makes it likely for people to target me as a "mark" even though I have learned to spot that coming and avoid it.

People can tell there's something different about me and the unscrupulous or bullying types see that as a sign of a target they can have their fun with. It had happened enough times that my responses were, perhaps a bit extreme for the instance at hand, but prickly enough that most don't try it twice. My bark is worse than my bite, right up to the point where I decide to _actually_ bite...and then the response is metered to assure there will be no repeat performance required.

I usually start with a verbal warning, then a more forceful warning, and if that isn't heeded I escalate to whatever I feel will actually work, perhaps a threat of calling the police, or some other assistance, and ranging through threats of violence if that's what is required. I get a lot of flack for moving past harsh language too quickly, but in my experience I can save a lot of steps by jumping to the end and if the first two warning weren't heeded, ten more were unlikely to garner a different result. Don't get me wrong, I am not normally a violent person, but I _can_ be forced to use it if I perceive it is the only way to stop someone from attempting to abuse me.

As it was, I didn't consider this slight figure a serious threat, but you never know, so my guard was fully up. She stepped back from the door some distance, which made me a bit more comfortable, and I stepped outside the camper door, closing it behind me. I had tucked my pistol into my back pocket, where it blended in with my dark grey pants pretty successfully, while still remaining pretty accessible. I try to avoid people seeing my firearms, some people just have an allergic reaction to the sight of a gun, best to avoid any drama.

She said, "I know you saw me studying you earlier, and I want to tell you why. I have a gift that allows me to see when other people have gifts as well, and though I've never seen one under these particular circumstances, I strongly believe my instincts on this." At this point I'm thinking ok here comes the punchline, either this chick is a bit out there or she's after something because this is just a little too weird. Any time someone other than your Mother tells you you're "special" in some way there is usually a punchline, and it usually isn't funny.

She went on to say, "Look, I know this is a bit sudden and probably sounds crazy... _Too bloody right,_ I thought _..._ but we can get into that later, firstly I am heading West and could use a ride...How far West are you headed?" This caused me to survey the parking lot...it was empty save my vehicle, and wonder how the _hell_ this little slip of a girl had gotten here and found herself alone in this remote parking lot. It also weighed heavily on me that she was able to approach my camper without me hearing her, and my hearing is almost preternatural. When I played paintball the guys called me "Radar" because I could point out the locations of opposing players just by the noise they made moving through the woods.

"All the way to the Hoh Rain Forest," I replied without thinking it might not be good operational security to reveal that. _Ooops, slipped up there, gotta keep thinking with the logical brain here rather than the emotional one._ Like I said, I'm a sucker for a pretty girl in distress, and she was articulate and obviously insightful and intelligent, not to mention stunningly beautiful, and the more I saw the more I realized she was not likely a minor, looks aside. I still couldn't place her age though, even though my estimate was rising rapidly.

"How did you come to be here all by yourself and without a ride?" I said. "I was hitchhiking and went hiking down the trail and when I came back my ride had left," She said. I said, "How rude! Did they lead you to believe they were going to wait for you?" She answered, "Yes, but I thought something was up with him. Perhaps he figured out I wasn't interested in anything more than a ride and he wanted something else. Anyway, you have a camper so you're perfectly outfitted for a long road trip without stopping in hotels or motels and if you want I can sleep in the truck. I won't be any trouble, you don't even have to feed me, I can take care of myself for that."

At this point I'm thinking _I'm not sure I can trust this girl, but given her conditions, and given her situation I can hardly leave her out here for the coyotes._ Little did I know it was the coyotes that needed to beware. I told her she could come along for the ride, but she'd probably have a cat in her lap most of the trip, since Missy rides in the truck with me when we're traveling. I also warned her Missy was not aggressive but didn't take to new people very quickly and was likely to hide until she felt more at ease. I also decided to let Missy be the litmus test for the girl...if she didn't like her, she would be getting off at the next rest stop.

I was deciding how to break it to her the sleeping in the truck thing was probably best without sounding inhospitable, because I didn't necessarily want a person I was unfamiliar with to be having access to the kind of firepower I keep in the trailer when she added, "I really don't sleep that much anyway and probably won't spend much time in the truck. I like to be out and about at night and only require a few hours of sleep a night." _Perfect,_ I thought _, minefield successfully negotiated without detonation._ I also figured she couldn't get into much mischief in the truck if I had the keys in my pocket anyway.

My trailer was cozy for one, a bit tight for a couple, and close to the point of awkwardness if you _weren't_ a couple, and I don't really enjoy close contact with people too much, owing to my Asperger's. There was also her cryptic remark about a "gift" and me being "special" to sort out before I felt too comfortable with her. I am not a pushy person, when someone doesn't share, I don't typically push for more details, figuring they will let me know when they are ready. I suppose that makes me a good listener, or at least so I've been told.

I said, "Well, I'll leave the passenger door of the truck unlocked so you can get in there when you want to...there's nothing worth stealing in there anyway, but I lock it out of habit. Normally I park in the city." It was a nice night and I was outside in it, the temperature was comfortable, and the stars were out in the millions. Something I hadn't seen since my time in the Army at Pinon Canyon. You have to get far away from cities to _really_ see stars. The amount you see when you do is absolutely astounding if you're from a city and haven't seen it before.

"I'm going to chill out here in the lot for a little bit and enjoy the night sky, maybe even use my Sky Map app on my phone to check out what is visible around here. I don't usually turn in until around 2am and get up around 10am to eat breakfast before hitting the road if that's ok with you", I said. I thought it odd she didn't have a backpack or something with her, given she was hitchhiking across the country, and asked "Don't you have any stuff with you?" "I left my bags in my last ride's car and I don't see them anywhere around here, maybe they got turned in at the Visitor Center," She said. It was after October and the visitor center was closed for the season but when I told her this she seemed a bit more unconcerned about her baggage than seemed normal for a young woman.

 _Another mystery, I thought, this certainly is more interesting than I expected this trip to be when I started it._ I had done some limited work for a Private Investigator, mostly involving following cheating spouses, but I had an analytical, problem solving sort of mind and enjoyed a good puzzle. This whole situation piqued my interest, perhaps beyond what was good for me, but at 50 years of age, I might not be in the fighting trim I was in when I was in the Army, but I'm no slouch, and I was also well armed, so what the heck. _A woman that travels light...shoot me now, I've seen everything,_ I thought.

After some stargazing I decided to turn in. Some years before I'd had an injury that had a dressing the doctors didn't want getting wet, so they'd given me some "bath in a bag" towelettes to use instead. I found them pretty effective, and looking at the ingredients and comparing them to other similar items found some wipes at Dollar Tree that would serve in their stead without being prohibitively expensive. I used these now as a "bath in a bag" solution for camping as my camper didn't have a hot water heater or shower, by choice truth be told.

After cleaning up just before bed, as is my habit...why, after all, dirty sheets when you can simply "shower" before bed? I turned in for the night. I was still trying to figure out what I'd gotten myself into and rolling the day's events over in my mind while I lay there. I never heard her get into the truck, but I sleep pretty soundly and the camper is pretty well insulated, being constructed of inch thick sheet foam and fiberglass. After a bit, Missy jumped up on the bed and curled up next to me for some caresses and then moved slightly off to a more comfortable sleeping position and we both drifted off.

When I awoke the next morning I heated some water on the stove to wash my hair and face with a washrag and shaved with my electric razor. Ready to make breakfast I poked my head out the door to see if she wanted any, but didn't see her in the truck or near it, or in sight at all for that matter. I had half expected her to disappear during the night, but didn't assume anything. _Oh well, her loss_ , I thought and proceeded to scramble up an egg with a strip of bacon and a flour tortilla wrapped around it for breakfast. Missy got treats, rather than a full meal, as she didn't travel well with a full stomach. Patricia approached from the main building as I was standing outside the camper munching on my breakfast roll.

I assumed she'd been on the other side of the building for some reason. "Missed your shot at breakfast," I said. To which she replied "That's ok, I already ate" I thought to myself _What the hell can she have eaten if she only has that small purse with her?_ I didn't pry, though, figuring it was her business. "We'll be getting on the road shortly," I told her. "Need any help getting ready to go?" She asked. "Nah, this is a really easy camper to take down, only takes a minute or two" I said.

I had stored everything after I cleaned up from breakfast and took Missy and her litter box to the truck cab so I could fold up the camper. Now I unlatched the driver's side panel and swung it down to it's resting place on the counter, then unlatched the door top half and dropped down the passenger sidewall on top of it. Then I pushed up on the front roof half to unhook it and pulled down on the back half. The bungees pulled the front half down with it and in short order the camper was flat and latched and locked. I then cranked up the stabilizers at the rear of the camper and stowed the crank handle in the doorway of the camper.

Having backed into the space and not having unhooked anything I was now ready to get on the road. "That's it, we're ready to roll out," I said. I told her I was concerned about Missy trying to jump out when she got in so I wanted to stand behind her as she got in just in case. She opened the door and Missy jumped into the extended cab area behind the seats on my side but didn't seem too concerned. Once Patricia was in the truck I went around to my side and hopped in, giving Missy a stroke for being such a good girl. Her eyes were wide, which is not unusual when she is around new people, but she didn't seem to be upset.

I fired up the truck and we headed west on I-94. My next planned stop was at Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum near Makoshika State Park, other than the obligatory gas stops I was planning to run straight through to there and find a boondocking spot nearby. Once we got rolling and settled in she started asking me about myself, wanting a full life history. I thought this was a good time to broach the subject of my Asperger's since people have an expectation of how you will behave and become uncomfortable or even angry when you don't conform to their expectations. I told her I was, in a manner of speaking, born without the "social programming" everyone else gets, so didn't understand or automatically know all the"unwritten rules" of social behavior.

I had learned to fake it well enough for most people not to notice, but some situations or circumstances made it become obvious, causing folks to sometimes get upset. I liked it quiet, low stim, easygoing, liked my schedule to be pretty rigid, and was, as a rule, brutally honest and preferred that from others. I told her to let me know if I was doing something that made her uncomfortable or upset. "I'm not fragile, you aren't going to ruin my day by letting me know if I'm doing something annoying," I told her. She just nodded and motioned me to go on.

I then went into my basic history, cliff notes version. I told her I'd joined the Army after high school and didn't do terribly well there, owing to my Asperger's. When I was discharged I went to work wherever I could find it, moving from job to job, mostly also due to my Asperger's. Today's "zero tolerance" workplace is not welcoming to people that aren't functioning well socially. I had always been praised on my work ethic and attention to detail, but inevitably lost jobs for social reasons in spite of the excellent work I was doing.

My stepfather was having a hard time hiring anyone that would show up for work in his factory in Ambridge, so for a while I worked there. I had one manager after another harass and bully me as a result of my Asperger's and I'd finally quit. Somewhere in there I went to college and got an Associates degree in computers but had lost a really good job as a Network Admin, again for social reasons.

Eventually I found a job where social interaction was minimal and manageable and for a time delivered pharmaceuticals to nursing homes. Exacting work with an expectation of perfect repetition with no deviation from procedure was right up my alley. It's my _nature_ to work that way, so it wasn't hard for me at all. I did get stressed by dealing with traffic to and from work, as well as while working. Then there were the nurses who as I like to describe it "Had an allergic reaction to me."

Some people just can't leave an Aspie alone, they have to do things to aggravate us, mostly because it's so easy to do and the payoff is out of proportion to the effort. Also, they can do subtle things that will annoy an Aspie that would otherwise not irritate someone without sensory processing issues. If you've seen the movie "The Aviator" there was a scene where the politician played by Alan Alda put a big greasy fingerprint on Howard Hughes' glass because he knew it'd drive him crazy due to him being beyond fastidious and a known germaphobe. The bully can then use the anthem of all bullies throughout history "But I was just…." and claim the person overreacted to his innocent actions, thereby victimizing them a second time by vilifying them. I call it a bully bogo, short for Buy One Get One free.

Anyway, between the stress of traffic, some mounting health issues, and dealing with asshats, I'd decided to "pull the pin" as we say in the military, and retire early on disability. Too many things were "damaging my calm" as they like to say in Firefly. I didn't want to turn into a bitter old man swearing constantly at everyone and everything and felt I was just about getting to that point.

I told her a few interesting stories about my time in the army, like the time I faced down a Master Sergeant who issued me an unlawful order in front of the company at PT (Physical Training) I invited him to retract the order in a loud voice, so everyone present would hear and told him if he didn't my next conversation would be at the Judge Advocate General's office. He retracted the order, not that he had much choice, given the number of witnesses there he could never have hoped nobody would speak up about it.

On the other hand it did take a certain amount of chutzpah to call him out publicly like that. I had dared to do a lot of things while in the military that probably didn't make me a "model soldier" but I had always done what I felt was right. In the military it's easier, the UCMJ or Uniform Code of Military Justice, isn't a suggestion or open to interpretation, it says what it says and woe to the soldier that takes liberties.

Having brought her up to date on my situation I asked her if she'd like to tell me something about her life so far, since I'd been so forthcoming. She told me her friends called her Ta, a nickname that started with her little brother not being able to say Patricia as a young child, and which stuck with her. I thought it was cute and fitting and resolved to use it from then on. I asked her about her brother and she said, she didn't hear from him anymore. I didn't want to pry into that, feeling it might be a sore topic so I let the matter drop. I'm thoughtful like that. No piece of information that isn't vital to life and limb is worth getting someone upset over in my humble opinion. I had my own relatives I wasn't currently on speaking terms with for one reason or another and wouldn't appreciate anyone prying that pandora's box open myself.

She didn't elaborate any further on her family but told me she'd been to college and taken Computer Science, so I knew she was at least 22, but figured even older given her manners and speech, the way she dressed and her attitudes about things. I'm 50 and we had similar attitudes about things, which was unusual. I still hadn't nailed down her age, and she hadn't spelled it out yet, but one doesn't normally ask a woman her age, it's considered rude. I'd never understood that, being an Aspie.

Knowing someone's age gives you a lot of insight into where they are coming from and if you're older than you look, more power to you. Neurotypicals don't think this way so it's best to let it lie though. I did wonder at the "Computer Science" class, since nowadays and since about 2000 it's been called Information Technology or some such.

She said, she was going up to Washington State to find out about a little known event that took place there that she'd heard about and that it would require some old fashioned legwork to ferret out, since it was a sort of secret known only to members of a certain group. She didn't tell me too much about the particulars, which I thought odd, but again, didn't press for details. When someone is ready to tell me something, they will, and pressuring them may cause them to take even longer to get around to it.

She planned to start her search in Seattle, but knew it would take her to the North West corner of the state most likely. "Can you see your way to divert north from your route to stop in at Seattle for a day or so? She asked. I told her I hated cities but guessed we could swing by there, as long as she didn't mind me avoiding travelling there during rush hours and such. Cities are so...Peopley. I asked her if she felt she had enough to go on to make the trip worthwhile, and she seemed certain she'd find some clue there that would give her more information than she currently had.

I constantly use movie and book references in my conversations and have gotten used to people sometimes not understanding. For example, when I was delivering prescriptions I had a nurse at a med cart mixing up some kool-aid looking concoction in a glass and joked "So you're going to make them 'drink the kool-aid'?" Her response was a blank stare… I explained about the Jonestown Massacre and she responded with "Wow that sounds like a really good movie." I had to further explain "That wasn't a movie, it was a current event in the eighties"

I expected to run into such gaps in her knowledge of my older references, and strangely didn't. I was starting to suspect she was either _much_ older than she looked, or remarkably well schooled in a great many topics one wouldn't normally find outside a game of Trivial Pursuit. There I go again...likely most of you folks don't know what that is. Go look it up, I'm gonna make you work for that one.

In any event I was starting to come to the realization that there was a lot more to this girl than was apparent, and figured most people who are not Aspies, and who have a heavy normalcy bias (you can look that one up too) wouldn't have realized it given so few data points. I began to wonder if she realized I was "onto her" but I gave no sign I was taking anything at other than face value.

After about an hour of driving we pulled into The Glendive Dinosaur & Fossil Museum, which was a huge disappointment to me. Some guy had a bunch of fossils and was putting forth the theory that they somehow proved the Bible was a historically accurate document. All the science of evolution was incorrect, according to him, and people were deluding themselves to believe in carbon dating and such. Her reaction was akin to my own, great disappointment.

I'm not religious, being far too literal to believe in something like an invisible, all powerful being, that leaves us completely alone and in the dark about his existence, but expects us to believe in him anyway. I also see the hand of man in a lot of religions, for instance, the kosher laws of ancient times were likely more about hygiene and avoiding sickness than anything else. It was just easier to get people to obey a law from god than it was to suggest that eating pork that wasn't properly cooked, which was nigh impossible given the technology of the time, might make you sick.

After leaving the Museum, we drove to Billings. I had planned to hopscotch across the map using Walmart Supercenters as home bases where I couldn't find other accommodations or simply didn't want to pay to stay anywhere. I also figured Ta, having recently lost all her traveling gear, might need to pick up a few things. I assumed she had some cash on hand, she was dressed like she had some money, or at least had when she'd bought her current wardrobe.

If I'd pushed on to Missoula it would have been an eight hour drive, and I wasn't feeling that much urgency about the trip, this was supposed to be a sort of vacation. I had nowhere in particular to be, no clock to punch, no pressing need to put on more miles than I felt like on any given drive so I planned to stop at a Walmart between Painted Canyon and Missoula. There was another Walmart Supercenter in Missoula we could camp at and provision at a little less than six hours from this one, which would be a comfortable drive without becoming too much, and there didn't seem to be any worthy attractions on the way. Thank goodness for the internet, I'd seen many things on google maps I thought might be worth checking in on, but after the Museum I was going to check more thoroughly before making a planned stop anywhere.

It was about 3:30 when we pulled in to the Walmart lot and I found a spot near all the other campers, but as out of the way as possible. I prefer to be in a corner away from everyone to avoid hearing generators and whatnot and don't mind a long walk to the store if I'm not planning any major provisioning. Now that I don't work I need to get my exercise when and where I can, and heck, might as well do something useful instead of running in place.

It was actually a pretty good time to go into the store, since it wasn't yet crowded with the after work shoppers yet. I figured I'd browse around, maybe use the wifi to do some more trip research, and just see if anything I had to have jumped out at me. I don't impulse buy much, but sometimes you run across something useful browsing around. I didn't need much in the way of provisions this trip, having stocked up before leaving my brother's place.

I told Ta "Well if you need anything to replace your lost luggage this will be a good place for you to get it and stretch your legs a bit. We'll spend the night here but we have a lot of time to kill before it's time for bed. Do you have money to get what you need?" She answered "Yes I have all I need for now, and I won't need too much. This is my favorite outfit, I wear it most of the time. I thought that a bit unusual, some women even change clothes several times a day, but most change outfits at least every day. I hadn't detected any odor other than a hint of cinnamon and vanilla coming from her so she obviously wasn't getting ripe. I thought to myself _Well, that's her business as long as I don't get fumed out of the truck._

I told her "I probably will just knock around here for a bit, maybe use the wifi and then head back to the camper around dark. I don't want to leave Missy too long." She responded "I'll get something to eat while I'm shopping, so don't hold dinner for me." It occurred to me I hadn't seen her eat anything as of yet, but hey she was so thin she probably wasn't eating much anyway. Maybe she was vegan or something.

While we were talking I was setting up the camper in the pull through two car spot I'd parked in. I cranked down the stabilizers first, then popped the camper up in about a minute or two. I left the camper hooked to the truck but dropped the front wheel to stabilize it on the front end. Once the camper was set up I took Missy from the truck to the camper and closed her up in there with her dinner so she could get settled. I left the vent fan on and some windows open so she wouldn't get hot in the afternoon sun, but it was November so it wasn't too warm this far North. My batteries were in pretty good shape, since I never used power for anything I didn't absolutely have to. I'd set up the fridge on propane and left it on that all the time. Some people say you shouldn't drive with it on so I shut it off when in transit, it didn't get too warm on the shorter drives I was taking anyway.

It turned out I did need a few items of groceries and I made a trip back to the camper with those before heading back to the store to use the wifi and kill some more time. I spent a little time with Missy, playing with her favorite toy and then giving her a q-tip to play with while I was gone. It's amazing what will interest a cat. I had bought an electric "cats meow" toy for her and she'd played with it exactly twice, then lost interest. But a piece of string made to resemble gold chain...heaven! A Q-tip, fascinating! Milk rings, hours of fun!

I'd learned long ago not to spend money on stupid cat toys that wouldn't hold her attention long. Laser pointers didn't even work with Missy, she was too smart and knew the laser was coming from the little thing in my hand. After looking at the dot for a second or two she'd come to me and nudge my hand, letting me know she'd figured it out.

I putzed around in the store's electronics department, watching the tv's there for a bit when news or something interesting came on, used the wifi to plan my next fuel stop and overnight stop. I had fueled up on the main drag before pulling into Walmart so we were good to go for a good bit, but I figured to have to stop for fuel once before Missoula. I always topped off before settling down for the night, preferring not to have to mess about with that in the mornings. I walked along the automotive isles looking at trailer and camping items to see if anything struck my fancy... nothing did. I decided to go back to the camper and read for a bit, maybe send some text messages to friends and relatives, letting them know where I was and that I was fine. I texted my brother and Jack, who'd tried to call when I was otherwise engaged and wound up in voicemail. Jack is a salesman who drives a lot and calls me on his commute to shoot the breeze. I hadn't taken his earlier calls since I wasn't alone and it'd be rude to ignore my passenger.

After I texted everyone I started some dinner. I made shrimp fettuccine alfredo with some butter, milk, grated parmesan and romano cheeses, california garlic, and assorted spices, and shrimp and noodles of course. It was nice having a fridge with a small freezer in the camper, it certainly opened up the possibilities for a varied menu. I boiled the pasta on one burner and heated the frozen shrimp, already cooked, in some water on another, then put the shrimp aside while I made the alfredo using the other ingredients. After combining the ingredients in the saucepan I'd made the sauce in I ate it right out of the saucepan rather than dirty another dish or use a disposable plate or bowl. I cleaned the dishes as I finished using them to avoid any dried on food issues, using the water I'd boiled the pasta in for a preliminary cleaning, and then fresh water to finish the job.

I settled down with my Honor Harrington novel and relaxed on the couch with the cat. Even when I'm travelling I'm sort of a homebody, preferring to spend time in my camper with my books and whatnot to socializing or engaging in some sort of stimulating activity. I'd learned I was MUCH happier when I limited my stimulation. I _could_ do things that were stimulating, but they took a lot out of me, and I wound up exhausted and stressed. I'd need some decompression time to compensate for the overstimulation and it just didn't seem worth it to me. Something like a sporting event in a stadium or a concert with a large crowd might take me several days to fully recover from. A video arcade? Perish the thought. I guess I'm a hobbit of sorts, enjoying my comforts and my cozy home, even if it was an a-frame camper in a Walmart parking lot at the moment.

She knocked on the door when she was back from shopping, I had locked the truck in the parking lot so she couldn't put her purchases in it without me letting her in. I habitually locked the truck all the time, even in areas where I was the only one around. I figured it's a good habit to stay in for when you aren't the only person around or are in an area where it's not wise to leave it unlocked. Forgetting to lock it has worse consequences than locking it when it wasn't strictly necessary, so lesser of two evils and all that. I let her into the camper and she had a small backpack with her which obviously held some items, but not too much. I didn't pry, figuring it was her business what was in it. I assumed a toothbrush and some other hygiene products and maybe some spare clothes. She sat at the dinette and seemed to want to talk. Missy had gotten over her shyness and was starting to rub her leg some as we talked.

I told her my plans for the next day, and she seemed to agree with them. We'd be doing a bit longer leg tomorrow, driving from Billings to Missoula. There was another Walmart there we could visit in case we needed anything, and there were sure to be gas stations nearby. I planned a short stop about halfway through the 5-6 hour drive for fuel and to have a break from driving. Marathon drives are not much fun, and I was in no hurry. She didn't seem to be either. I thought it was pretty odd that her previous ride had just abandoned her...she'd been pretty damned low maintenance so far as I was concerned. I didn't have to feed her and she kept to herself any time we weren't in the truck together or specifically discussing trip details such as now in the camper. It was almost relaxing having her along, unlike most people she didn't seem to have to be talking all the time. She'd answer a question if I asked her one, tell me what she felt I needed to know about the same time I felt I needed to know it, but otherwise just sort of was there. That was pretty unusual for a non Aspie, I kept thinking.

After we discussed the details of tomorrow's drive she said, she wanted to walk back to the store and use the wifi. I said, "Wait you have a phone?" "We should exchange numbers so we can find each other when we're not together, you never know, something might come up," She said, "Sure." and pulled out her phone to enter my number. After telling her my number, she immediately dialed it and her number came up on my screen. _That's funny_ , I thought. _That's exactly the way I usually do it._ Then she headed back to the store after putting the backpack in the truck on the passenger side and relocking the truck. I gave her the spare key to the truck so she could get into it to sleep when she got back if I wasn't awake. It occurred to me that I hadn't seen her sleep yet either. _Rather odd, but everything about this girl is pretty odd when you think about it,_ I thought.

I decided to take Missy out for a bit and was using a baby stroller made for pets I had stowed in the truck bed under the tonneau cover in between uses. We strolled around the parking lot a bit and went into the store when I judged it was quiet enough to be less unsettling to the both of us. Busy stores are not my favorite places, Walmart in between peak hours and after say 10pm wasn't too bad though. Great thing about being able to bring your cat into the store, you can see if she likes toys BEFORE you buy them, instead of after. Nothing really interested her though, aside from catnip, which I had aplenty in the camper already. I didn't see Ta around as we walked through the store, nor did I see her in the parking lot anywhere. _Well, she knows where we're parked, she'll be there when she wants to be._ I know what you're thinking, nobody would be that relaxed about getting details from a traveling companion...I told you...I'm not your average guy...I'm an Aspie. Normal doesn't apply.

Missy loved her little cart, it allowed her to be outside without being _outside_. She was strictly an indoor cat and _totally_ spoiled. I'd taken to treating her with flea treatments while on the road but previously hadn't had the need. She'd only left my apartment to go to the vet after I'd taken her in. Missy was an odd cat. She _talked_. Not meowed... _talked_. She'd meow, of course, if she just wanted attention, but she did this burbley sort of speech thing when she was particularly pleased with herself, or greeting me, or playing. One time she caught a bug and belted out a whole bloody sentence to announce how happy she was with that result. I about fell over laughing. She was pretty needy when it came to attention, not liking being left alone, even for short periods. When I was working I was typically only gone for about four hours, but this was too long for Missy. She'd be waiting in the window overlooking where I parked to see me come home. If I was gone for longer she'd whine and act like she thought I was _never_ coming home. She would also get upset if she saw me getting dressed in work clothes to leave the house. Taking her on the road with me was a natural choice. I could hardly leave her at home or in someone else's care when she seemed so desperately attached to me. After our walk I read a few more chapters of my e-book and got cleaned up for bed. Then I lay awake for a bit mulling over my odd traveling companion until I drifted off to sleep with the cat snuggling my arm.

The next day I got up and gave Missy her treats, made breakfast, this time cereal, and got dressed to leave the Walmart. I had poked my head out to see if Ta wanted anything to eat, but she wasn't in sight. When I stepped out after eating she was waiting by the truck. _Appears out of nowhere this girl, as if conjured,_ I thought. I put Missy in the truck and folded down the camper to get ready to get on the road and we were driving on 90 West again. I wanted to stop in at the Old Montana Prison Museum, which would give us a break from driving long enough to break up the day. We'd also get gas around there somewhere and then finish the drive to Missoula.

I was beginning to notice some oddities about Ta that were perplexing to me. She kept looking out the window intently at something only she would be able to see. I'd look in that direction and see nothing noteworthy or interesting but she was locked onto something. One thing about us Aspies, we are VERY observant. Our sensory processing issues mean we get more brain activity for a given stimulus than most people would. I think it makes us more intensely alert, certainly I notice things other people don't and it seemed to me as if Ta were noticing things _**I**_ was missing, which would be a novelty for sure. It had been overcast the last few days and it was starting to clear up, at least for now. I was looking forward to seeing the Prison, mostly being interested in the architecture more than anything else. Prisons in those days were built like castles and I loved castles.

When we stopped at the prison Ta asked if she could just stay in the camper with Missy while I looked at the exhibits, expressing no interest at all in walking through the museum. I told her I was planning to take Missy with me in the carrier if they'd let me in with her. Usually I didn't get any flack from people running attractions. For all they knew it was a baby I was pushing around, the mesh kept anyone from really seeing Missy unless she was moving around or making noise. Sometimes having a black cat is an advantage. I told her she could hang out in the trailer if she wanted. I could pop it up in the parking lot without too much trouble. I figured it was a good time for her to learn how to do it herself and made it a teachable moment. She picked it up quickly and for a slight girl had no trouble lifting the panels and setting it up once I showed her how.

She told me she really didn't do well in the hot sun and needed to stay in the shade, and indeed jumped into the camper as soon as it was up, wasting no time in the sun at all. I can relate, being fair skinned myself. I told her she was welcomed to use the Skin-so-soft I had, which was both a bug repellant and sun block but she declined saying she couldn't stand the smell of such things. I didn't spend too long at the museum, it was not all that interesting. I found the story about "Turkey Pete" sort of amusing, the lengths the prison inmates and employees had gone to to allow him to live in his fantasy world when his mind went were pretty epic. The guy actually thought HE was running the prison, paying the guards with checks they'd faked for him and everything. He'd actually been given life in prison for murder and died there eventually, but had a good old time what with everyone humoring him so much. I remember thinking that nothing like that would ever happen today.

It was only another hour or so to the Walmart in Missoula. Ta laughed when I told her the "Turkey Pete" story. Since I had her in a good mood, I decided to pry just a little and asked her, "Say, do I need to be worried about some jilted ex boyfriend or anything like that?" "I mean is there any reason to be watching out for trouble on this investigative trip of yours?" She got quiet and sober immediately and said, "No, I don't think we need to worry about that at all. I _do_ want to keep a low profile and not stir things up with my investigation, but I don't see there being any trouble for us." "Well that's good enough for me, you know I used to work for a P.I. so I might be of some help with the investigation if you let me know what we're on the trail of. You can do a lot with a name and a birthdate, or a social security number, or even just an address," I said. She told me she didn't have anything that specific but knew where some events had occurred and intended to look at some forensic evidence left behind there.

 _Forensic evidence,_ I thought to myself, _this girl talks like_ me _...and_ nobody _talks like me. I wonder if she could be another Aspie…_ She didn't seem to need a lot of social interaction, nor small talk or pleasantries, and didn't seem disturbed by my not behaving "normally" Heck, she wasn't behaving "normally" either for that matter. Of course you don't just announce to someone that may or may not realize they have Asperger's that you think they may have a neurological disorder. There is some truth to the saying that "It takes one to know one" though. I resolved to discuss it with her at some point and to broach the subject by mentioning my own Asperger's again. That might get her thinking along those lines and leave her mind open to the idea.

I had decided to push on past the Walmart in Missoula, we were nearing Seattle and I wanted to figure our stops so we'd arrive relatively early on the day we actually reached the city. I had also decided I'd had enough of people and traffic noise and lights for a while and scouted the google map to find a suitable camping spot for total off grid camping. I had found a spot south of 90 that appeared to have a reasonably navigable turn around and was a forest service road so we shouldn't be disturbed. I wanted to get a little nature into the trip for a change. Ta didn't object so we wound our way up into the mountains, taking it slow with the trailer and a truck that wasn't built for heavy towing. I thought to myself that Ta must be a trusting sort if she's willing to be driven so deep into the woods. If this were a movie this'd be the part where I did something unsavory to her. She seemed totally unconcerned about any designs I might have on her. In point of fact, though I thought she was drop dead gorgeous, I certainly had no illusions she might be interested in _me_. I was fifty years old, and she looked to be in her twenties, I was starting to put on too much weight, and she was about as slender as one can be and still be healthy, some would consider her to be _too_ thin to be healthy. I won't say I didn't entertain a fantasy or two, she was, after all, right up my alley, dark haired, almost anorexically thin, smart, steady, and we seemed to hit it off pretty well. That doesn't happen too often, and it made me all the more suspicious that she might be an Aspie. I told her she could crash in the camper if she wanted to and was comfortable with it, the dinette made into a second bed, but she said, she wanted to spend some time taking in the night in the forest and wasn't likely to sleep much that night anyway. I didn't stay up as late as I normally do, wanting to get an early start the next day, so after I fed Missy, ate, and relaxed with my book for a bit I turned in.

I was up much earlier than was usual for me and didn't see Ta around anywhere when I poked my head out. I wasn't really hungry, having had a relatively large meal the night before. Sometimes I wake up famished and others I just don't feel like having anything at all. I gave Missy her treats and then walked around a bit looking for Ta. I had gotten out of sight of the trailer on both sides as far as I considered reasonable on the forest service road and was headed back for the second time when I realized something...not Ta...was at the door of my trailer. Looking closer I realized it was a damned big black bear and he was trying to get the door to my trailer opened. _Shit!_ All I had with me was my 9mm Taurus PT111 G2...not exactly bear medicine. On the other hand I'd seen a few TV shows where they show how you can bluff a bear if he's not terribly hungry so I hoped I'd not need to do anything more than wave my arms at it and yell. Thank goodness Ta wasn't here I thought, pulling out my pistol, just in case. I had it loaded with Underwood Defense xtreme defender +P+ ammo so it was about as good as I could hope for, but I'd sure rather have had the AR with me. I stopped, and raised my arms above my head to look as big as possible and yelled "Hey bear!" "GET!" That got his attention on me instead of the door but he didn't immediately move. He did look around though as if to find an escape route, and I wanted to keep him thinking along those lines so I stomped a bit in his direction, waving my arms and yelling at him some more. Then I summoned all my chutzpah and growled at him as loudly as I could, yes you read that right, I growled at the bear. I damned near scared myself it sounded so menacing. I was in no way going to let this bear eat my cat like a boxed lunch. She was my baby, I was responsible for her...not on my watch. The bear turned away as if to trot off, and then he saw Ta coming back down the road toward the camper and did the strangest thing...he ran away from her as if he was afraid of her.

Maybe it was the suddenness of her appearance, but he seemed spooked. The problem at the moment was I was in his direct line of retreat, and not sure if he was afraid or just pissed. You can't run from a bear, that triggers their prey response, and bears can run something like forty miles an hour, me...maybe five, and I'd pass out before I got more than a hundred yards anyway. I was feeling a bit trapped, and took aim with the pistol at the bear's head. I'm a damned good shot, but a running animal is awfully hard to hit, in my favor he was running right _at_ me. Time was not on my side, I had to make a call. I decided to shoot less than a quarter second after he started loping in my direction. He'd be on me in a few seconds and I had to make something happen fast. CRACK! My first round was a hit but not in a vital area, As the bear got closer I started doing double taps, I was hyper-focused on my sights and the bear, nothing else existed. The bear was NOT slowing down, but seemed to be hit and irritated. I could have gotten lucky enough to get a side on shot, maybe I'd hit something vital in the lungs or heart area, but head on the bear was protected by a thick skull and greater penetration needed to reach anything vital on a body shot. Penetration my short barreled pistol in 9mm did not have.

As the bear reached me it took a swipe at me, but it seemed an afterthought. Almost as if he just wanted me out of his way. I tried to sidestep and step into the swing and succeeded partially...partially wasn't really good enough. I'd avoided his claws, given our closure rate he hit me with his forearm, if you can call it that, but he really HIT me. My upper arm bone cracked as I tried to block the blow from reaching my core, and then proceeded to at least crack a few of my ribs, I wasn't in much condition at this point to assess the damage, since I was busy being airborne and then landing in a heap in the ditch beside the service road.

I didn't lose consciousness right away, but I wasn't really functioning at the moment. I _was_ able to observe though and what I saw was unbelievable. Ta, who had been some distance down the road, was suddenly there... _right_ there...which shouldn't be possible as when I'd seen her she was at least a hundred yards away. _and_ she was jumping on the back of this maybe 500 lb black bear and twisting his bloody head off! WHAT THE FRENCH TOAST?! I must be delirious. Then she did something even _more_ odd if that were possible. She _bit_ the thing right on the neck and appeared to be drinking it's blood. I coughed up blood myself, and thought oh crap, that means I may have a punctured lung. That's _no bueno_! If I had been standing in a trauma center I might be able to survive, but it wasn't looking good for me in the position I was currently in. I doubted I could get to a hospital fast enough for it to matter. I was strangely clear headed. I guess adrenaline does that for you. Ta came over to me after finishing off the bear. I simply couldn't believe what I'd seen, figuring I was out of it or something. She seemed _very_ upset. I couldn't talk much, hell I couldn't _breathe_ much. I managed to squeak out "Take care of Missy for me." and she said, "Don't try to talk. Just nod if you understand. I can fix this...I feel like this is all my fault, if I hadn't spooked the bear he wouldn't have attacked you. I can see that you are very badly hurt and I _can_ save you, but there is a cost...You'll have to become one of us." One of _us_? Who's _us_?

"I'm a vampire, but I don't kill people, at least not ones that don't deserve it for a good reason. I eat animal blood, that's why you've never seen me eat." A _lot_ of things started falling into place about then...and I _had_ seen her eat...she ate the bear that killed me. Even though I wasn't doing too well my thinking was still accelerated by adrenaline. I had never seen Ta eat, use the bathroom, clean up, brush her teeth, she avoided sunlight and never let anyone touch her. It was a little mind boggling, a sort of rock your world moment, but I didn't have a lot of time to process it. "If you want me to save you just nod and I'll do it, I'll help you avoid killing anyone if that is what you want, it'll take you three days or so to change and I warn you it's going to _hurt_." "There are benefits though, as far as I know we don't die...ever...unless something kills us and we're pretty hard to kill. We can run a hundred miles an hour and are _really_ strong." That bit I figured out on my own, watching an eighty nine pound slip of a girl just dispatch a 500 lb black bear in less than two seconds.

I thought about it for a second, and figured I _really_ didn't have a lot of choice at this point, it was either die or try something else...something else sounded better, far less permanent, and if it sucked, well I could _still_ always die. I wasn't sure she could _really_ do it anyway...I mean, the whole last few minutes was just about as impossible as things could get. I figured _what the heck._ I nodded my head and Ta came in close and bit me right around my right clavicle. _Geezus H Magillicuddy!_ That smarts! I felt like I was being stung by a thousand bees but without the numbness...I would have _liked_ some of that numbness at the moment. It was like someone stuck me with a hot poker, and then injected lava into my neck and I somehow survived long enough to feel it.

The heat spread quickly to my head and extremities and once it was everywhere wasn't quite _so_ intense...but it was no picnic. I remember hearing Ta saying something about being glad she was so full from the bear she didn't try to drink my blood as i tasted _delicious_. Well, I've been called a lot of things, some of them even complimentary, but delicious wasn't one I could say anyone had ever called me. As I was fading out I felt Ta pick me up and take me to the trailer. Missy was _very_ upset meowing desperately and brushing against me as Ta put me into the bed. That's the last thing I remember.


	2. Change

As I regained consciousness I did it the way I usually do, I snapped awake suddenly, but things were different. When I opened my eyes I could see as if I never had before. I was able to focus on dust motes in the air above me, even slow down time as I examined them minutely. I could hear the traffic from the highway, which was some miles distant, and I could smell the blood in my cat's veins as she sat in the camper. Wait, why wasn't I in the camper? Ta was standing over me and I was a little distance from the camper on the ground. I jumped up and Ta grabbed my arm and started pulling me with her up the service road away from the camper. I was hungry beyond belief, my throat burning as if it were on fire, and glad I'd been distracted, because Missy's blood was currently smelling good to me. Ta had another bear nearby, one she had trapped and kept from escaping while I had undergone my transformation.

Once I smelled that it was all over. First off I was more than a little annoyed with bears at the moment, and beyond that I was famished! I wanted that bear more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life, poetic justice and breakfast all in one. I saw it nearly a hundred yards off, focussed on it...and suddenly I was standing next to it. That surprised both myself and the bear. He tried to move away but instinct took over and I grabbed onto him and bit him around where his carotid artery would be and a warm gush of salty goodness greeted me. After a few seconds it occurred to me to wonder how I'd gotten to the bear. I didn't remember running over here...

Ta came running up as I finished draining the sizeable bear dry. She said, "I knew it! I knew you had some kind of 'gift'. I thought to myself _You mean besides the gift of getting into really really bad situations?_ I told Ta "We really need to have a long, involved conversation right about now." She agreed and proceeded to tell me a few tidbits I hadn't known about her and her situation. Firstly she was about the same age as me, having been born in 1969. She'd been turned into a vampire at Ohio State as a sophomore, making her apparent age around 19 or 20. Things hadn't been going well for her in life and she'd been pretty shy and awkward, eventually she was diagnosed ADHD or Asperger's in high school. When she went to college it was her first time away from her family and she'd hardly gotten settled before a guy named Matt had taken a shine to her. She hadn't been aware of this until he had snatched her up from the campus parking lot late one night on her way back from the library. He'd fixated on her as his future mate and turned her into a vampire to make her compatible.

He actually expected her to be grateful and fall in love with him, but she didn't want to kill people and discovered she could survive on animal blood when she'd come across a stray dog in the park where he'd taken her to transform. He had kept her under his thumb, telling her she was "defective" and that the other vampires wouldn't let her live if they discovered her. Only he would allow her to continue to exist and she'd better be grateful. Typical manipulator behavior. Cut people off from any other influences and carrot and stick them. _Prince, this guy_ , I thought.

She stopped her story briefly, saying "But how did you do that? You just appeared over here, you didn't run," I told her I hadn't the faintest idea, but I'd test it again. I still had fresh in my mind what I remembered about it...I had wanted to be somewhere, sort of gathered energy, and mentally flipped a switch...and then I was there. I decided I really wanted to be at the trailer to console Missy, who had seemed very distressed when I was hurt in the camper. I gathered energy, flipped a mental switch...and pop! I was at the camper door. I heard Ta yell "Wait!" so I didn't go in right away, she sounded concerned about something. She ran up to the camper which was only a hundred or so yards away from where the bear was and said, "Be careful, you're really strong now and you might break something or hurt Missy if you're not really really delicate about touching anything. I had noticed that when I grabbed a hold of the bear I'd nearly squashed it, but I'd not been trying to be gentle at the time. Ta also said, she was a bit worried I'd not be able to avoid the lure of blood in a live animal if I was too close to it and I thought Perish the thought! I'd never hurt my little fur baby. I carefully opened the door and Missy was there meowing piteously. I scooped her up gently, making sure not to do any more than cradle her and held her next to me to console her. She seemed a bit disconcerted at first, but eventually settled down as I cuddled her.

Ta came inside and sat at the dinette while I sat on the couch stroking Missy. She tried to dig her claws into my left shoulder, as was her habit, but wasn't able to break the skin this time. _Well there's one upside to this vampire thing already_ , I thought. Ta was distraught, apparently thinking I'd blame her for what happened. I told her the bear charging me was certainly not foreseeable and I didn't blame her for it. As to saving my ass, well, I was willing to let her have credit for that. I was curious about the bullets not turning the bear and asked her if she'd seen where I'd hit it. Mostly in the head and most probably eventually fatal, but not immediately so, she told me. Well, considering how undergunned I'd been it wasn't all bad. I really hadn't expected bears this close to the highway and people in general, chalk one up to experience. Fortunately, thanks to Ta, I got to survive it. I told Ta to give me the vampires 101 course, quick and dirty, "no shitter" style. I had to explain what "no shitter" was. That's when someone sits you down and gives it to you straight, without any sugar coating, and you typically say...wait for it…"No shit?"

So, I was now immortal, able to run 100 miles or so an hour, just about invulnerable to attack, and didn't need to breathe or sleep anymore. Oh, and I could teleport...didn't see that one coming. I'd need to keep myself pretty well fed if I wanted to be around people for a while, unless I didn't mind killing them, which I did. I would only have to have a meal like the bear or deer every week or so, and the big bear that killed me...seemed strange saying that...would keep her pretty well for a week or two. "It was lucky he was so big," She said, "If he'd been too small I might not have been able to turn you without accidentally draining you dry."

I actually felt really good. I was clear headed, thinking faster than I ever could before, and even though my sensory processing issues hadn't been removed, my speed more than made up for limited throughput in my estimation.

Ta told me Matt had kept her afraid and hidden, probably to keep her from leaving him, for a long time, nearly thirty years. When he'd become too demanding and controlling she'd finally decided there was only one way to escape him. She'd killed him. I thought, _Geezus! Remind me never to piss this girl off_. She'd lured him in close and twisted his head off, then tossed him into a fire to be sure. Apparently that was the only way to kill a vampire, beyond what any animal on the planet could achieve, and probably most armies, come to think of it. I could think of a few ways to take out a vampire given my military knowledge, but one would have to be set up and ready to deal with one in advance to have any chance at success.

Ta told me the Volturi were a sort of law enforcement organization that made sure the vampires didn't come to the attention of the humans and kept the peace between vampires. Ta also told me that there was only really one law...not to be noticed by the humans. The Volturi were the threat Matt had used to manipulate Ta into putting up with his abuse, so I wasn't too sure they were actually real, but she assured me they were. In fact, the reason she was going to Seattle and then North was to try to find a group that had been visited by the Volturi and survived it. This was the first time this had ever occurred. Any time the Volturi moved in force, the coven or group they had targeted were always wiped out, unless a member had a special gift, then they were forced to join the ranks of the Volturi. I wasn't a big fan of "join us or die" ultimatums. Usually I considered a third option...Kill.

Fortunately I'd not been faced with choices so bleak to date. What was I thinking...I'd been given that choice three days ago, but it wasn't out of malice. I asked Ta "What about the 'defective' angle, do you think that's true?" She said, "I don't know, but I think the smartest way to find out is to talk to the group that had recent contact with the Volturi and survived to tell the tale." Made sense. If anyone knew what the Volturi were likely to tolerate it'd likely be them, and they weren't likely to turn us in to the Volturi to curry their favor, since they'd just faced them down and come out on top. Ta also told me there had been an incident she was pretty sure was a rogue group of vampires in Seattle that had attacked the coven that had defeated the Volturi and the attackers had been wiped out completely. That's what she wanted to check out in Seattle. She knew they had left from there and been active there so she hoped to find some trace of them. Maybe even a straggler or survivor.

Ta asked me if I'd had any special talents before becoming a vampire, and thinking back I told her that I had been able to move things with my mind back in my ESP experimental days. I had a ball bearing I'd carried around in my pocket, and I could make it steer around on a flat surface once I'd started it in motion. I'd stopped messing around with that when people in the cafeteria had seen me doing it at high school and it freaked a few folks out. I had also been able to manipulate energy, like ethereal energy, such as one might find at a haunting or some such. I told her the teleporting thing seemed a lot like the energy manipulation. Then I decided to try some telekinesis just for giggles. I wasn't sure I'd remember how to do it...it was sort of like a cross between asking the thing to move and pushing it along. An odd combination, but when you got the balance right, it worked.

I put Missy down and gave her a few treats to occupy her while I went outside with Ta. I lined up on a rock on the side of the road and tried to coax it into motion using my old ball bearing technique. No effect. Then I got irritated and developed an energy charge sort of like charging a capacitor, and released it at the rock in frustration. The rock exploded into pieces which flew forward as if propelled from a shotgun. Well, no finesse but certainly success of a sorts. Apparently my instincts were able to do it just fine as long as I didn't overthink it.

I got to thinking, here I was with all this firepower and I no longer needed a bit of it. That would certainly make visiting Canada less of a hassle. I'd just stash the firearms somewhere and quit worrying about my safety, that was pretty much assured as long as the Volturi didn't decide to off me as a "defective". I did need to determine whether or not that was a concern and how to deal with it though. I told Ta her mission had become my own and we'd find out together whether the Volturi were a threat to us. We'd also find out as much as we could about being a vampire without killing anyone that didn't absolutely need it. She broke in "Oh I almost forgot, the group in the North, they don't eat humans either. That's another reason I wanted to make contact with them." Well I certainly considered people of like mind better candidates to be our first contacts in the vampire world than any randoms, so I was on board with that. I asked Ta if she'd ever really met any other vampire than Matt, and she said she'd only observed them from a distance when he'd met with them.

Ta also mentioned to me she'd heard that the coven that stood against the Volturi had allies with them...werewolves from the nearby Indian reservation who were capable of killing vampires. I thought, _Great, now we have two potential threats_. She said they were friendly toward the coven so it was hopeful that we could meet with them without any hostility. She'd been told they didn't like vampires that killed people...which did not include us so while we'd have to be careful as to how to approach them, making sure they knew we weren't hostile to them or humans, we might be able to come to an arrangement.

I decided to rethink our strategy. Visiting Seattle to find traces of the vampire group there, what with the possibility of running across them and giving ourselves away to people we weren't sure of, didn't seem to make a lot of sense anymore. I felt that the least risk involved method of proceeding was to go to the reservation and approach with caution. We knew where the reservation was, and we didn't know where the coven was, but we knew the people at the reservation would know where they were. Given the werewolves weren't allied with the Volturi, indeed might even be considered their enemies, it was unlikely they'd out us to them. Also the werewolves were likely to be territorial and wandering about looking for traces of the coven we were likely to cross their territory and perhaps irritate them. For sure it wouldn't be a meeting under the best of circumstances if they found us somewhere they felt we weren't supposed to be.

The reservation was on a map, and the approach to it was a road, we could simply drive there and initiate contact in a fairly low key way that would at least give us time to explain ourselves and establish that we weren't the kind of vampires they were unkindly disposed to. It wasn't lost on me that going in at the main entrance would mean potential witnesses and they'd not be as likely to attack around witnesses. Ta agreed that it was a bit risky to sniff around Seattle looking for vampires that might turn us in to the Volturi if we ran across them.

Ta told me that one reason she was traveling with me, rather than simply running where she wished to go, was that in an enclosed vehicle her scent would be harder to detect to other vampires, and also vampires are reticent to be witnessed and therefore might not attack her with people around. In essence I both lowered her profile, and made her an unattractive target if they were inclined to attack. "I really didn't plan to put you in any danger, and I certainly didn't think of turning you into a vampire when I joined you for this trip," She told me. "I had planned to part company with you before making contact with either my own kind or the werewolves. I really hope you believe me, I am not like Matt." I told her to relax, I was ok with how things had worked out, at least so far, and it wasn't as if there were many other options. I was grateful that she'd saved me and pretty sure she'd not intended for things to go the way they had, but since they had we needed to work together now as I was in the same boat as she was.

The plan was for us to use the truck to make the reservation, meet with the Indians there, and hope to make contact with the werewolves in a peaceful way. I figured driving in there they'd not be able to pick up our scent, but once we left the truck it'd be obvious to them what we were. At that point they'd know we were specifically looking to make contact with them and not sneaking around, so hopefully they'd be receptive. It'd be a trifle risky, since they would likely be a tad bit surprised at first, but I couldn't think of a less intrusive way to introduce ourselves. If I'd still been human I could have gone ahead and made contact without arousing any potential suspicions, although I wasn't entirely sure they'd have been wanting to discuss their tribal secrets with some random guy that showed up and asked about it. I decided to drive there that night and time our arrival for morning the next day. The long drive wasn't likely to be uncomfortable for us, I hadn't experienced discomfort, aside from thirst, since I'd awakened as a vampire, and since we didn't need sleep anymore it made the most sense to get there when there was likely to be someone awake to talk to, as well as potentially some activity and witnesses to keep things cordial.

When we rolled up to the group of buildings at the reservation we got some funny looks but nobody seemed alarmed. I figured maybe they just don't get many visitors. When we got out of the truck, however, things changed. A long haired man in a wheelchair came out of one of the houses, flanked by a very fit looking young man with short hair and a tattoo on his shoulder. Another fit looking young man also with short hair and a matching tattoo joined them as they approached us. Ta and I stepped away from the truck on either side and stood waiting for them to make the first move. "Hello there," I said. "We're not looking for any trouble, just information." I continued "My name is Jeff, and this is Patricia, she hates being called Patty."

The guy in the wheelchair said, "I'm Billy Black, and this is Jacob and Sam. What brings you to the reservation?" I told him we'd heard about a local group like ourselves that lived nearby and didn't hurt people, that they had, along with some people from the reservation, recently repulsed an attack by the people like ourselves that did hurt people and that we were trying to get in contact with the locals through the reservation, since we didn't know where to look for them and were sure the folks at the reservation did. Billy told me I needn't hold anything back, everyone here knew what we were and we obviously knew by scent what they were. I relaxed a bit and said, "Ok, well...Ta here has been a vampire for about thirty years, but I've only been at it for about thirty hours. We've both agreed we don't want to hunt humans and will stick to animals for food, and want to hook up with the local...coven do you call it? for some tips about how to best avoid any unfortunate incidents. Also we're interested in finding out more about our own kind, since Ta was changed against her will by someone that tried to imprison and manipulate her and we figure anything he told her was to further that goal. We drove in this way so you would see us coming and know we weren't hostile. I figured if we cast about looking for the other vampires we'd likely run across you as this is your territory and we wanted our first meeting to be a bit more circumspect and chill than some random trespass." I said, "Before we get too long in the tooth here, would you mind if I pop up my camper and put the cat into it so she isn't cooped up in the truck?" "I can give her something to eat to occupy her while we talk and I'm sure she'll be much more comfortable in the camper, she's sort of used to it." I could see everyone's attitude soften a bit, which surprised me somewhat. Billy nodded and I tossed up the camper in record time, while Ta answered questions about Matt. I could see that her treatment by Matt annoyed them as much as it angered me.

One of the boys came over to me and said, "You have a cat?" his eyes big. I frowned and said, sure I had a cat, why was that so unusual? I'd had her long before I'd become a vampire and wasn't about to abandon her now. I guess you could say I died for her, in a way. I wasn't going to let that bear eat my cat. Actually, I'd had the bear just about buffaloed when he got a whiff of Ta and decided to steamroll me, not that I was going to let her take the blame for it. Ta told the story about how she'd changed me into a vampire to save me from dying. Everyone seemed a bit more friendly after hearing about Matt and the bear. Go figure. Billy told me he'd call Carlisle Cullen, the local doctor and coven leader, and he'd likely drive to the reservation to meet us. Billy also told me he appreciated how we'd shown respect coming in the way we had, and they'd discuss adding ourselves to the terms of the treaty they had with the Cullens as long as we didn't kill or bite any humans. Billy told me he wished more vampires thought like we did and didn't kill humans. Apparently some of the vampires that had stood against the Volturi had not been of the same sentiment and had still been tolerated. Here I'd thought we might be walking into a fight, perhaps their recent joint exercise against the Volturi had made them a bit more charitable toward our kind.

Carlisle, a youngish looking blonde man with short hair and pale skin, showed up in a black Mercedes with tinted windows and Billy made introductions. I indicated to Carlisle that while I was relatively full and the scent of wolf was keeping me from getting too out of control with thirst, I would appreciate being away from so many temptations as soon as reasonable. He invited us to follow him to his home to discuss their way of life and then he would answer our questions about our kind. I put Missy in the truck, tore down the camper and we followed him to their home.

It was a very good thing we were following Carlisle, I'd never have found their driveway any other way. Carlisle told me I could bring Missy inside as she'd be perfectly safe there, so we all worked our way in the front door, me holding the cat. Missy seemed to want down and immediately after I set her down she shot behind the couch to hide. She didn't take to people too quickly and more than one at a time was even more of an adjustment for her. I figured she'd be ok. A young girl looking to be about ten or twelve started trying to coax her from behind the couch as we sat down in the living room to talk. Carlisle sat us down, made introductions and said, "I am sure you are full of questions about us and our kind, what would you like to hear first?" I said, "First off, this is an amazing house you have here, all glass and timber, it's absolutely stunning." It was too, I wasn't just making conversation or buttering him up, we aspies don't do ulterior motives. If an aspie says something, it's because they really and truly believe what they're saying. We also don't respond 'properly' to compliments paid to us, since we see it as a simple statement of fact and not requiring any reciprocation, we typically just nod and maybe say thank you if we think of it.

Carlisle introduced us to everyone, starting with his wife Esme, a tall nurturing brunette with long slightly curly hair, then his son Edward, who was a brooding looking young man with movie star reddish brown hair and a stunning wife Bella. Bella was a dark haired slender girl who didn't look old enough to have a daughter Renesmee's age. Renesmee, a slight curly haired girl that looked ten or twelve, was busy playing with the cat only barely acknowledged Ta and I, which was sort of cute. I guess pets weren't really a thing in the vampire world. Alice and Jasper were a couple, Alice being a very slight girl with spiky hair and a bubbly personality, and Jasper being a very southern looking gentleman with the sort of hairstyle you might see in civil war pictures who seemed good natured in a wry sort of way. Emmett and Rosalie were also a couple, Emmet was a bigish athletic looking guy with short dark hair a laid back sort of personality, while Rosalie was a bit standoffish and wistful girl who had the classically beautiful looks that made many a model's career.

Foremost in my mind was the whole "defective" issue so I jumped right into that. At my question, Carlisle assured us that the Volturi wouldn't consider us "defective" and try to destroy us outright, that had been a lie told by Matt to control Ta, as I had suspected. He did mention that our abilities could cause us to want to avoid the Volturi though, as the Volturi tended to try to acquire any abilities they could to increase their power. I asked about the recent events and was told that Bella was a recent addition to the vampire family, they called it a family, rather than just a coven. Interesting….Also, Renesmee was a very rare half vampire, able to eat human food as well as to exist on blood, and was rapidly maturing. She'd be fully grown at the ripe old age of seven. I could tell she was warm blooded as it were, being able to hear her heartbeat, but fortunately she didn't really have an appealing odor, at least as far as food was concerned. Everyone had their own scent, and hers was pleasant, in the way that you smell vanilla perfume on a woman and it smells nice, but doesn't make you want to eat them.

Carlisle told the story about his transformation and subsequent desperate discovery that vampires can exist on animal blood, rather than human, which mirrored Ta's discovery when Matt tried to get her to kill humans by bringing her into close proximity of them at a park when she was a newborn.

Now that I was satisfied there were no immediate threats to us, I asked Carlisle what he felt we needed to know first. I said, "We want to avoid killing or harming humans and to learn as much as possible about our kind, especially the Volturi since there seems to be some threat from that quarter even now. Let's start with Bella's story, since it's so fresh in her mind becoming a vampire and avoiding hurting anyone, any tips would be appreciated." I said. About this time I noticed Edward and Carlisle exchanging a look that seemed to convey something and asked what that was about.

Carlisle told me about Edward's ability to read people's thoughts, which explained how he knew we had any abilities, and Alice's ability to see the future, dependent on the decisions a person makes if she's watching their decisions. Jasper, it seemed, had an ability to sense and influence emotions, and Bella was able to shield both herself and others against any mind related powers others had. Apparently Edward was telling Carlisle we meant what we said and could be trusted with that look they exchanged.

I was a bit nonplussed that my thoughts were not exclusively my domain around Edward, but figured they were used to it so I could live with the embarrassment in exchange for the fast track to the Cullen's trust. Renesmee had the ability to communicate by touching a person's temple and projecting her thoughts into their mind.

I told them about my ability to teleport and the telekinesis I had experimented with when I was younger. I said, "I think I will have to spend some time learning what I can do before I can be really sure what I'm capable of, so far I've not been able to duplicate the telekinesis successfully." I shrugged and continued, "I destroyed the thing I was trying to move, though that ability in and of itself could come in handy. Ta here, can tell when someone else has a gift and sometimes even get an inkling of what kind or how it works, though she couldn't exactly tell what sort of gift I had when I was human, she could see that I had some kind of gift."

Ta said, "I can tell my ability to discern people's gifts is becoming a lot more sensitive and selective, since so many of you have abilities and now I know what they are...it helps to have a point of reference. All the people I detected abilities in before were at a distance since Matt wouldn't let me actually meet them." Alice said, "Hey Ta, I love your outfit. I think we're the same size, if you want to borrow anything, let me know." Ta answered, "I usually wear the same thing all the time…" Alice cut her off with, "Oh that won't do at all, come with me and I'll show you a little about fashion!" and with that she grabbed her by the hand and ran off to her room, presumably to play dress up. I chuckled with amusement and wondered if Ta would enjoy or just endure the session.

I saw my reflection in a large hallway mirror and was shocked to see how much I'd changed since becoming a vampire. My hair, which had been thinning on top was now full but the grey that had been starting at the temples and in my beard and mustache was still there. I guess I wasn't going to have to start shaving my head eventually after all. Beyond looking younger, my features looked, while similar to my previous appearance, more angular so someone that didn't know me well might not immediately recognize me. Another thing I noticed was that I was much more muscular looking than I'd been in years. I had been fairly athletic looking when I'd been in the Army, but it had been decades since then and I'd not kept up any kind of exercise program since.

Edward and Carlisle coached me on appearing human so I wouldn't incur the wrath of the Volturi. I seemed to have improved my multitasking ability, previously pretty much nonexistent. I had the extra capacity to sort of set subroutines in my mind to do things that would work on their own and not require conscious thought from me. I set one to keep me from moving too fast or exerting too much force around humans so as to remain incognito as a vampire, which was pretty important. I also had to remember to blink and appear to breathe even though I didn't need to anymore. These things became automatic for me thereafter...I suppose it helps to have a programming background.

We needed to come up with a plausible explanation for our presence in town and in association with the Cullens. I put forth the suggestion that we tell everyone I was a relative of Carlisle's, since we both had light blonde hair, it was pretty believable. Maybe a brother or cousin, perhaps estranged and now renewing ties. Ta looked enough like Alice to be a relative of hers but I was having a hard time figuring out how to explain two unrelated relatives showing up at the same time. Ta suggested we just tell everyone as much of the truth as possible, she was a hitchhiker and traveling companion and came along when I came to visit. I was told that humans typically didn't look too closely into vampires stories, something in their instincts warned them not to pry, which made it possible to brazen out things that would seem fantastical if viewed entirely logically. I had experienced this before with people, but being an entirely logical creature simply didn't identify with it. For instance, I had just about figured out something was off about Ta early on in our association, but didn't let on or get freaked out by it.

It was decided that I'd be Carlisle's distant cousin and had come across him doing genealogy research and decided to look him up. I'd have to keep as much of my history intact so I could easily remember and project it, but subtle changes had to be made to keep me somewhat anonymous and to mesh it with the history Carlisle was claiming. Since I wasn't yet appearing too young for my age, I didn't have to falsify much to keep things believable. That would change in the future, so I'd have to come up with something for later, but for now I could remain myself, as it were. Since Bella and Edward had their cottage, Edward's room was empty and even though we didn't need to sleep, we did need to keep up some appearances so I took the room, and Ta was said to be bunking with Alice for the time being. Carlisle suggested I stay close to the house and avoid contact with humans as much as possible to avoid losing control and harming someone and I wholeheartedly agreed. Not killing anyone was a top priority to me. I'd be around a long time to regret it if I did and I didn't want that on my conscience.

We'd tell everyone I was some kind of nature lover, and was always off camping or hiking, hunting, or some other outdoor activity and that I was a bit of a hermit, which was pretty true, given my Asperger's. I could only take so much social activity before I became overtired and drained. This was less pronounced now that I had the extra capacity becoming a vampire had given me, but even so I liked being alone a lot of the time. Previously I'd have felt like a weekly dinner with a few friends was more than enough social activity to satisfy me. It'd be easy to avoid people if they thought I was a hermit, and they might even avoid me. I needed to contact friends and family and come up with some reason why they wouldn't be seeing me for some time. Given I was on a retirement road trip, that wasn't too difficult. I simply told everyone I had found a place I was really enjoying and was planning to stay an indeterminate amount of time but would keep in touch by phone etc. Having the camper and pickup helped sell the idea I was some kind of nature lover and would often be gone for long periods and I already had a lot of camping and hunting gear so I could look the part through and through. We settled in and met some of the locals, Charlie, the chief of police and Bella's father being one. He seemed gratified to see a relative of Carlisle's that had aged to some extent, we made light of it joking about our genetic agelessness and that when it eventually fails it really fails. The visit seemed to go well, he didn't seem to be suspicious of anything.

We settled into a routine of keeping busy, myself mostly practicing with my gifts to increase my control. I got to a point where I could push things gently, rather than violently, it was a matter of judging the amount of force needed to move something and applying that and no more. I also improved my ability to teleport, using everything from pictures to television images to surveillance camera footage to jump to locations at will. I worked on being able to move multiple objects at the same time, since I might be called upon to defend myself should the Volturi decide to require me to join their ranks involuntarily. I had jumped back to my own apartment to get certain things I needed that I hadn't packed for the trip, since this was turning into a more long term stay than I had intended when I left home. Distance didn't seem to make any difference, I could jump anywhere I could clearly see in my mind. I had tried to jump to people, but that didn't seem to be the way it worked. I resolved to have people send me a picture or video of a spot they felt I could jump to near them if they needed me to teleport to them. I had been able to teleport someone to me when I saw them on a video call on the cellphone, which might come in handy if someone needed a quick extraction from a sticky situation. I was honing my hunting skills with a little help from my new friends, but I was still concerned about avoiding killing anyone.

Not having ever tasted human blood as a vampire I asked those that had about the experience, and how hard it was to deny the thirst. I was told that animal blood was sustenance but not satisfaction. I got to thinking, human meat was said to taste like pork by those that had eaten it in survival situations such as the Andes plane crash...and endocrinologically humans and pigs were pretty compatible, which is why pig insulin worked in humans. I was thinking maybe pig blood might taste just like human blood, or be a close substitute. In addition there were feral hogs that were invasive, and since they'd been mating with pigs raised for their meat, they had become very large and dangerous to humans. If we were to feed on those, and there seemed to be an unending supply of them since they were spreading, we'd be doing everyone a favor, and keeping ourselves well fed at the same time. I resolved to experiment with that and bring along another vampire that had tasted human blood to make a comparison. Emmet volunteered and Ta, Jasper, and Alice came along both to keep me out of trouble and to assist in the hunt.

There was a county to the East with a feral swine population so on the appointed day we ran there to begin our hunt, avoiding any populated areas. Emmett was partial to bears, and given my personal experience with them, I wasn't inclined to argue the point, but we needed to know how close it was to the real thing and he'd agreed to help so we stuck to the plan. We found some swine in a wallow, it wasn't hard to follow their scent, but even if we'd not been so equipped for hunting their swath of destruction would have been pretty easy to trace to their burrows. We hunted at night to avoid anyone seeing us and all wore dark clothing both to avoid being seen and to hide any blood we might get on us during the hunt from casual observation. The smell was pretty enticing, and I could see everyone getting more enthusiastic as we closed with our prey. Emmett struck first, pouncing on a particularly large pig of several hundred pounds and the look on his face was one of disbelief when he finished draining the beast. He ran back to us and clapped me on the back saying, "Jeff, that was the best idea I've heard all year." "They don't taste exactly like human blood, but it's a lot closer than it anything else, this will really help those of us that have tasted human blood to avoid any backsliding. I wish I'd known about this before I ran into my singer", he said wistfully.

Ta, Jasper, and Alice spread out to find their own kills and I targeted one just beyond where Emmett had found his. We all four found animals fairly close together since the swine were arranged in a series of burrows near to each other. Jasper said that human blood was better but that this was nearly as satisfying, and would help him immensely to remain true to the Cullen's way of life. Ta swore it was the best thing she'd ever tasted as a vampire and everyone was pretty enthusiastic about hunting swine instead of other animals, even Emmett, who usually prefered bear to anything else, mostly due to his bad experience, and I could totally relate. When we returned, Carlisle received our report with some excitement, saying maybe we could get other vampires to swear off killing humans if we could interest them in this alternative. We brought some blood back for Renesmee to try and she declared it an acceptable substitute for the donated blood she'd been weaned from as she'd grown. This gave me the greatest hope, since packaged blood would allow us to have a food source in the house if for some reason we couldn't take time to hunt. I resolved to teleport some animals into a canyon they couldn't escape from near us to have a sustainable source more nearby. These were invasive and destructive animals, so making sure they didn't get loose was a high priority. Carlisle told me about some small islands nobody ever went to nearby that we could use and we settled on that as a solution.

I was starting to settle into my new vampire life, making progress at keeping myself fed without harming anyone, making progress with learning my gifts, both teleporting, and moving objects, I had practiced destroying multiple objects at the same time, and it seemed if I could visualize the desired result clearly it would happen, but if I didn't have a clear view or couldn't see all of the objects at the same time, some would get lost. I worked on my finesse, being able to juggle objects in the air, regardless of size and weight up to the largest objects I'd dared try to move, some huge redwood logs. I wasn't sure why weight seemed to be no impediment, perhaps because it was all in my head. It did take me a bit longer to gather enough energy to move something larger, but if I was willing to "charge up" enough I could theoretically move an object any size or mass. I didn't have the patience to try anything larger than the hundred plus foot logs, but it was good to know the limits of my ability. I learned everything I could about the Volturi, names, gifts, personalities, rank structure, anything I could glean from anyone who'd stood against them when they'd visited recently.

When it came time to discuss the recent Volturi visit in earnest, we held a meeting in the Cullen's large living room. Edward asked Renesme to simply show me the whole thing from her perspective. Renesmee came over to me and sat on a stool placing her hand near my temple and suddenly I could see Alice dropping a vase and announcing that the Volturi were coming for them. The scene changed and Alice and Jasper's apparent abandonment of the family was being discovered. The scene changed again to some training taking place with Bella trying to protect Edward from a taser like shock by some blonde vampire I didn't know. Then the scene changed again to the field of the almost battle between the Volturi and the Cullens and their allies. The Volturi seemed to be reaching for some excuse for a fight, and when Caius (Edward was naming people as the scene unfolded) killed Irina, in what seemed to me to be an obvious attempt to provoke an attack and then justify the destruction of the Cullens I felt a cold blanket fall over me. To kill is bad, to kill a sentient is worse...to kill an immortal, especially with such flimsy justification...unconscionable!

Here Irina had done what the law demanded, granted she was mistaken, but Aro had made the same mistake when he'd seen the same thing Irina had through her eyes. It was an understandable mistake, and that she had informed on her friends and family in spite of her reservations is something the Volturi should be pleased about, not punishing. She had done right by them, although perhaps not right in the way of right and wrong, and her reward was to be killed outright as a sacrificial pawn to kick off a war the Volturi obviously wanted so they could get Alice and Edward to join them and increase their power. (Edward explained a lot of what he'd read in their thoughts as the scene unfolded).

I froze, unable to move or speak...I was so furious I began to tense up and shake as a wave of hot rage overcame me. Edward looked at me with concern and Renesmee stopped showing me her display, Jasper looked shocked and made as if to restrain me and Bella pulled Renseme behind her as if to protect her from me. Edward said, "He's in control, he's just very angry." Jasper said, "I have never felt such raw fury before, I don't know how he can be in control." I let the wave of rage wash over me, letting my mind wander as I decided what to do with it. Jasper said, "I have to get away from him, I can't calm him down and he's starting to affect me with this overwhelming rage." He and Alice moved outside while I thought of my abilities, and a sort of loose plan started to emerge. I hadn't decided on the particulars, but I had decided that I was not going to let this stand. The Volturi had been invulnerable for so long, and able to threaten anyone who opposed them so thoroughly that nobody had dared for a very long time to so much as disagree strongly with them. That was about to change. My ability to teleport anywhere allowed me to avoid their wrath should they choose to direct it at me. My ability to destroy the rock when I was trying to move it would also allow me to destroy a vampire just as easily, not that I really wanted to, but the option was there. I might be the only person that could strongly and publicly disagree with the Volturi with impunity, and disagree I did!

I suppose some explanation is in order here...you see as a person with Asperger's I have been targeted by bullies my entire life, most of it without even knowing why. I wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until I was 37 years old, long after it had wreaked havoc on my life. I hate bullies, and the Volturi were bullies with a capital B. They took bullying to new levels I hadn't even imagined. My mind raced and I had a flurry of individual thoughts that were swirling around and coalescing into something more coherent. When I get into this brainstorm mode I tend to blurt a lot whatever is coming to mind, some of which is useful and some of which is just something I consider and discard.

Alice came back into the room with Jasper and in a shocked voice announced "He's decided...he's decided to destroy the Volturi!" I gave her a sharp look and said, "Well I have decided they need to be destroyed, but not, as yet, decided how to go about it. Let's just say I recognize a need and that my gifts may have placed me in a unique position to fill it," I said, "As of right now it appears they are 'in check' and not actively causing any problems for anyone." I continued "I have a very long time to work out how to effect the downfall of the Volturi, as long as they don't catch wind I'm plotting their demise." I looked meaningfully at Edward and Alice before continuing "I want to consider all possible options before deciding on a course of action, and I'll need every piece of information I can get my hands on about the Volturi in hand before I can even begin to formulate any plans, let alone select one to implement."

"I also recognize that any actions I take could involve risks for anyone associated with me and so will not do anything unilaterally, but my nature will not allow me to do nothing about this situation. It's beyond my ability to ignore or endure such a blatant and obvious injustice of this magnitude," I said. Edward chimed in with "I hadn't realized how you would be affected by this, and I'm sorry to have dragged you into our troubles. He's telling the truth though, he's just not capable of letting this pass. He's compelled to do something about it and is searching for the best course of action." I said, "Ideally I want the course of action with the least loss of life...zero is the goal here, though that may not be achievable." I said, "I am also prepared to disassociate myself from you if you feel it will be safer for you but I don't see how I can avoid moving forward with this in some way. Right now I intend to do a lot of information gathering and I'll have to be careful not to let the sources of the information get any inkling of what I'm planning. If the Volturi got wind anyone was plotting against them they'd probably move against them at once and certainly be a harder target from that point going forward." I continued, "I will ask that if any of you intend to be anywhere where the Volturi, and particularly Aro (who I'd been told could read your every thought at a touch) could come into contact with you that you inform me immediately."

Carlisle gestured at me and said, "I don't necessarily think destroying the Volturi is a bad idea, particularly if you mean what you say about loss of life, but have you thought about what this 'mission' of yours is going to entail?" I grinned and said, "Not really, but my nature doesn't let me consider any other course of action...once you've pegged my injustice meter...I come for you." "I have perhaps hundreds of years to come up with a viable plan and implement it as long as the Volturi don't figure out they have a new enemy, and the fact that they don't even know of my existence, let alone my abilities, certainly works in my favor," I said. Edward tapped my arm and said, "I don't want you to do this for me, for us, it's not something I would ask of anyone. You have no obligation to fight our fight." I grinned again and said, "I hate to burst your bubble Edward but I'm not really doing it for you, or your family, or even Vampire kind as it were...I'm doing it because it's who I am. I have no more choice about it than I do about having blonde hair. I suppose it's not really a virtue when you have no choice about it, but I'll take credit for it if you're offering it. To my mind it's a simple matter of applying my unique gifts in the most positive and effective way I can think of."

Edward and Carlisle looked at Alice who said, "I can't see yet whether he will be able to do it or not. I think he'll have to make a more specific decision about how to go about it before I can really see the result, and a lot of things can cause the vision to change. Right now, I see a sort of kaleidoscope of images and outcomes that hasn't solidified yet...but I haven't seen anything yet to make me believe he's going to fail." Emmet punched his fist into his hand and said, "It's about time somebody stood up to those guys." Rosalie pulled at his arm and told him "We just barely avoided a fight for our lives less than a year ago and you want to start another one already?" "What if the Volturi get wind of this 'plan' and decide to come back and finish what they started?" Alice said, "I'll be watching their decisions and know if they decide to come back, we'll have plenty of warning." I added "Add to that they don't have instantaneous transport and it will take them some time to get here, whereas I don't suffer from that limitation, so I could potentially do something as rude as popping into their little castle and making off with something they wouldn't like to lose...like a wife or two." Emmet laughed a deep resounding laugh at this and the others looked somewhat amused as well. Even Rosalie seemed a bit less stressed about the situation. I said, "I think if we had their wives here as our guests when they showed up they might be persuaded to reconsider doing anything, shall we say...precipitous. Of course I'd have to test my ability to take someone with me to some place they cannot escape from before that becomes a viable option, but it's a possibility I intend to explore as soon as possible. I need to find out the limits of my abilities and to practice and try to extend them before I can consider any specific plan. Toward that end I want to try an experiment." Carlisle's pig island idea was giving me another thought.

I looked at Alice and thought about what I wanted to do, waiting to see how she'd react. Edward's eyes got wide and he gulped. I went to a computer, getting an image from the internet of the moon, no wait...no air on the moon, and no weather so my footprints would be there forever...no Mars would be better, there's weather there, so the footprints and any sign of my being there would be long obliterated before humans set foot on the red planet. I looked up Curiosity images from Mars, picking a spot where Curiosity had been a long time ago and was unlikely to ever visit again, and imagined myself teleporting to that place, I imagined myself standing on the surface of Mars and then returning. I looked at Alice and waited for her to say something. Her eyes were wide when she opened them, and she nodded and said, "Yes, it'll work, you'll make it back fine...bring me back a Mars rock if you don't mind." I told everyone "Wait here, I'll be right back." I walked to the computer and concentrated on the image of 'Ireson Hill' on Mount Sharp, Mars and visualized myself standing there, gathered energy and flipped a switch in my head and suddenly I was standing there on the surface of Mars.

I'd like to say I was awestruck by the thought of being on another planet, actually being the first person to be on another planet, but I really wasn't. Call it the Asperger's but I was on a mission and didn't have time to smell the roses. I picked up an interesting looking rock and teleported back to the Cullen's house. Everyone seemed startled to see me back except Alice, who apparently knew when I'd return. Bella said, "That's going to take some getting used to, you popping in and out like that." I grinned and handed the rock to Alice saying "I probably wouldn't have dared to try that without your insight, and a promise is a promise." I said, "Now I need to see if I can take someone with me when I teleport somewhere...any volunteers?"

Renesmee said, "Take me to Mars, I want to see it!" I thought about it...vampires don't need to breathe, but Renesmee was warm blooded and I didn't want to risk hurting her, also there was no guarantee this would work. I said, "Well, maybe some other time Renesmee, this is a little risky and I'm not sure being in that kind of air would be good for you." Alice said cheerily, "Well I'm sure you can do it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it for myself, be right back everyone." I walked up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders, looking at Jasper to make sure he wasn't going to object, and visualized both of us standing there where I'd just been, then gathered energy and flipped the mental switch. This took a bit more concentration than before because of multiple elements in the vision, but didn't seem to take any more energy than before. We were standing there on Mars before you could register the change. It appeared to be instantaneous. Alice looked around and said, "Wow, this is so much nicer in person than the pictures." She scanned around a bit and then said, "Let's get back before the others get too nervous." I teleported us both back, this time without having touched her shoulders and it worked the same. Apparently I didn't need physical contact to transport someone. Good to know. Everyone was relieved when we appeared back in our original positions in the living room. I said, "Well, that's enough experimentation for one day. I have a lot to digest and a lot to learn. The most important decision you have to make is whether or not you want to distance yourselves from me so that if I fail or if the Volturi get wind of my intentions they won't associate you with me and come to destroy you along with me."

Edward chimed in "The Volturi want Alice and my abilities more than anything they've ever wanted, they will use any excuse to try to destroy this family and take those abilities for the guard, and now that they know the extent of Bella's power, they want her perhaps even more than the two of us. Bella is what made it possible for us to stand up to them and cause them to reconsider. If Bella hadn't been able to protect us, they would have attacked us and recruited us with Chelsea's ability to bond us to the Volturi," I interjected, "That really concerns me, if Chelsea has the ability to bond people to the Volturi, they could potentially do that to me, and I really don't want to think about how Aro would use my abilities." I continued, "Looks like you and I are about to become BFF's Bella. I don't want to risk that under any circumstances so keep that shield of yours handy, because if the Volturi had me on their side they'd probably use me to assassinate anyone they wanted out of the way." I looked meaningfully at the Cullen family one after another in turn.

Carlisle looked around at everyone and said, "I think I speak for everyone when I say firstly that I think that your chances will be significantly greater if we work together on this. Alice will be able to tell you if a plan of yours is viable before you attempt it, and Bella will be able to prevent the Volturi from learning of it before you're ready to move. Secondly I think that it is high time the Volturi stopped amassing power and abusing it. They were ready to obliterate us simply to get what they wanted. Their law enforcement function has taken a back seat to their ambitions and I don't see how we can allow them to continue to increase their power any further," He said, "That said, I think we'll have to be very careful and take our time about this and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try anything without discussing it with us first."

I replied, "Well with Edward here rummaging around in my head all the time I hardly think I could do anything without consulting you, but I wouldn't anyway. Hell, I'd have to be out of my mind not to run it by at least Alice before I committed to any course of action." I continued, "I would never put your lives at risk without giving you a say in the matter anyway. I considered just popping into their chambers and dropping them commando style, but I'm not certain I'd be able to take so many, even with the element of surprise. I'll consider that the 'nuclear option'...only to be used as a last resort. Maybe an incendiary device would improve the odds of success a bit, I'll have to give that some thought. My ideal solution would end the Volturi without any of them being killed at all, at least by me. I've got an inkling of an idea about how to do that…Alice can you start watching Chelsea's decisions and let me know if there is a window of opportunity to get her alone in a place I can get to? Alice nodded.

I turned to Carlisle and asked, "Can a vampire starve to death? I mean unlike your situation when you turned and came across a deer, if there were NO food around at all?" Carlisle shook his head and replied, "I really don't know, but I suspect that they'd just have less and less energy until they went totally dormant, sort of like hibernation. What would happen after that I have no idea, what were you thinking?" Edward grimaced and told him, "He's thinking of marooning them on Mars, where they can't get back here no matter what and won't be able to hurt anyone." Jasper smiled a thoughtful, almost approving smile and Alice looked a little shocked. Carlisle and Esme looked a little pained, but Emmet chuckled and said, "Boy, remind me never to get on _your_ bad side, that's pretty harsh, even for the Volturi. Not that I don't think they deserve it but...ouch!"

About this time Jacob Black came in. He was at the house most of the time, since he'd imprinted on Renesmee he couldn't be separated from her for long. He'd been gratified to hear the results of our swine experiment, especially the fact that Renesmee had found a satisfying food source that didn't involve human blood, even donated blood. Jacob said "Ouch what?" Bella and Edward said they needed to get Renesmee to bed as it was getting late and, being half human, she still slept. They went home for the night and left Jacob behind to be brought up to speed. After he was told what was going on he nodded in my direction and said, "Well anyone that stands against the Volturi is ok in my book, they almost destroyed us all when they were here." He sneered a bit and said "They even wanted to try to take the pack as slaves, which was not a big hit with us. Is there anything the packs can do to help?" I told him I'd keep them in mind and let them know when I had a more solid plan of action. For the moment I had to find out everything I could about the Volturi and vampires, to include their weaknesses, so I could come up with a solid plan.

I said, "Another thing to consider is we have to replace them with something. I mean we can't just wipe out the cops and hope everyone behaves after that, now can we? No one person should be able to make decisions about life or death unilaterally and we have to think about other ways to deal with transgressors of the law besides destroying them. I think some kind of council is the best solution, maybe with an odd number of people on it to prevent ties. The trick is who do we put on it..." I continued, "I vote for Carlisle, he won't let anyone die unless they really need to, and I suppose I have to be on it, because I'll very likely be the person having to implement the decision of the council. Who else do you think would be good for it?" Carlisle chimed in, "I think we should ask Garrett. He knows a little something about how to avoid being a tyrant, since he fought in the Revolutionary War against the British. He also is adopting our 'vegetarian' way of life with the Denali coven so he'll be better able to cooperate with us," I answered, "Yes! That sounds great. From what you just said I get the idea that vampires that exist on human blood are more susceptible to their baser instincts, I think I may be able to weave that into the plan I'm starting to form in my mind. If Chelsea were to stop actively strengthening the bonds between the guard and the Volturi would their bonds eventually weaken?" I wondered if the Volturi could be compelled to stop consuming human blood if it meant they could continue to cooperate with one another in order to maintain their power. Especially if the pig blood alternative was offered to them.

And so began the plot to end the Volturi once and for all.


End file.
